House Bill 27 – The Mae Street Kidd Act – Fair Housing

Mae Street Kidd was a major activist in Kentucky for a long time, and was a major political voice as well. One of most important bills that she was involved in during his political career however, was originally known as House Bill 27. This bill was what she has said was one of the most important bills of her career. In 1972, the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) was passed. This bill, promoted by Kidd, was to promote and finance low-income housing in Kentucky.

This bill was very important at the time for people who were still not able to afford proper housing. People that were still denied proper jobs because of their skin color or because of their gender were the ones that truly benefited from this bill. People that Mae Street Kidd said that she wanted to be their voice, and give them the rights that they deserve, which is why she got into politics to begin with. In 1974, the bill was officially renamed as “The Mae Street Kidd Act”.

When the bill was passed to create KHC, it was awarded a $150,000 appropriation, and by1973 had its first bond issued for $51.2 million. Also, they had built 623 new housing units for $1.9 million. Since then KHC has grown more and more, and still exists today building housing and helping those that are less fortunate and cannot afford proper housing. “House Bill 27” was a turning point during civil rights, where equal rights were truly starting to be awarded, thanks to people like Mae Street Kidd.

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Listen to the oral history interviews by Kenneth Chumbley of the University of Louisville’s Oral History Center in October, November and December 1978 with Mae Street Kidd.